A.N.(The story takes place between Halo and Halo 2; Deke, Dante, Devik, Alice, and Zona Arizona are © to me…Tornscar)
Torn
-Earth
-Phoenix Arizona
-6:10 P.M.
Deke and Dante were not the smartest kids in their neighborhood; they weren't the luckiest or strongest, let alone the fastest. They were just regular twelve-year-old kids. Deke was tall, slender, and broad shouldered. She had one blue eye one brown eye. Her hair was shoulder blade length; it was black with a blue streak on either side of her head. Dante was an inch shorter than her. He was slender with muscular limbs. His hair was dark brown and he had hazel eyes, they lived in Phoenix Arizona with their mother. Their father was never around because he was a marine in the army, though he did come home occasionally for Christmas and other holidays. He wrote to them telling them about what he had seen, but nothing of what rank he was in the army, or about what he had done, or whom he knew. They were yet to find out what they were best as.
It was Dante's birthday today. Their father was coming back to celebrate it with them, and he was bringing a gift for both Deke and Dante, for he had missed her birthday. Now the two sat on the front porch waiting for him to arrive. The sun shone down with excruciating heat, the two could see the heat waves over the "grass" in their yard. It wasn't really grass. It was sod. And whenever it rained a great amount of water god trapped under it making it act as a waterbed. Deke let out a sigh of impatients. She was 12; Dante would turn 12 at midnight. Finally a jeep pulled into their driveway. Every time he came to visit he had the same old jeep. You couldn't get it from any old car dealer; this was a jeep straight for the army. Deke thought it was totally dumb, and even worse, he had nick named it, he called it the Warthog.
As he got out of the jeep the two teenagers got up and walked over to him,
"Hi Dad," Deke simply said,
"Hello Deke, happy birthday Dante."
"Thanks Dad, it's good to see you again."
They hugged him then stepped back to look at their father. He was tall and strong, with short cut brown hair.
"Where's your mother?"
"In the house…"
He nodded and silence over took them,
"Well, let's get inside, here," He said handing Deke his suitcase, "Make yourself useful," She smiled at him noticing the tease in his voice.
"When do I get my presents?"
"Later, your birthday isn't for an hour."
"Oh c'mon!"
"Attention!" He said loudly interrupting his son's complaints. Dante sighed then stood up straight saluting.
"At ease…into the house, we'll all get heat stroke if we stay out here much longer."
"Hey Dad," Deke said, "Will you tell us a story tonight?"
"Sure Deke, after dinner and cake."
Deke and Dante sat by the Fireplace; they'd finished the dishes and were waiting to hear the story their father would tell them. Their mother, Sarah, was getting Dante's birthday presents, and stalling. She hated it when he told them war stories. Deke's dog, Sam, sat with his strangely long tail curled around his front paws. It had been the present her father had brought her, while he gave Dante a strangely shaped skull. He loved it because he was morbid.
"…Which story? What should I tell?"
"Something good…" Deke replied,
"My god kids I've told you all of my stories,"
"You don't have any new ones?"
"Nope,"
"Then what have you been doing for so long?"
"…Things your mother won't let me tell you about."
"Oh c'mon Dad, she's not here at the moment, quick while she doesn't know what we're doing!"
"Well Deke, you really would make a good Sp-" He stopped in mid-sentence,
"What? A good what?" Deke asked wanting to know more,
He hesitated, "Wait here for a second," He got up and walked into his room, to speak with their mother Deke guessed. Their hushed voices could be heard as a low murmur.
"He almost said it!" Dante marveled,
"Damn!" His sister swore,
"He almost said the "s" word…"
"What is it…?"
"Huh?"
She turned around to face him,
"Don't play dumb Dante…it's not like you've never wondered what the "s" word really is…"
"I know what it means…"
"You do!"
"Yes, it means "shit"…" Deke narrowed her eyes,
"No, it starts with "sp"…what word do we know that starts with "sp"?"
"Spit…" Dante suggested,
"Specter…"
"Space…"
"Spare…"
"Spice…"
"…Spit."
"I already said spit." Dante retorted, their parent's voices became clear as they walked down the hall,
"Michael I don't want them to have any part if this…"
"Don't worry Sarah, they don't know that the "s" word means spar-"
"Spartan!" Deke exclaimed,
"Spartan?"
"You know, starts with "sp", it's about the military, the Greek army of Spartans. The "s" word means Spartan!" Their parents stopped dead in their tracks, Deke turned her attention to her father and stepped towards him,
"Are you a Spartan?"
"…Why would you think that?"
"You've never told us your rank in the military…I'm just curious…"
"…I guess you are old enough to know now." He sighed sitting down in his armchair. "I am not a Spartan…but I train them. I am a General."
"What is a Spartan exactly?" Deke questioned him,
"A Spartan is an enhanced soldier, bred to kill. We take them from their homes and train them from age six. They learn to fight, assassinate, kill, and die with honor."
"…Do you know any?"
"I know many…"
"Who?
"Alright…Dante, Deke, time for bed, go change into your pajamas and don't forget to brush your teeth."
"We won't…" Dante called,
"C'mon Sam…"
As the two disappeared up the stairs, Michael and Sarah followed them with their gazes, once they were gone they sat in silence for a good twenty minutes.
"I've gotta "hit the hay" as they say," Michael grunted as he got out of his chair,
"They" being who?" Sarah asked
"Kids these days,"
"Why do you have to go to bed so early? It's only 9:30…"
"I've gotta travel, at O-400 hours, I mean at 4 A.M."
"…Alright…sweet dreams…" She said and kissed him good night.
She wandered to the window and stared blankly out into the darkness.
Thank god, she thought Dante and Deke are 12. They are to old to be taken away to be killed in war. Taken away from me…
"Dante, mom said brush your teeth…" Deke called from her room,
"I am brushing my teeth."
"Alright soldiers wrap it up!" Their father bellowed clapping his hands together. Deke curled up in her bed, her father's silhouette came through the door into her room.
"Goodnight Dad,"
"Goodnight Deke,"
"…Do you have to leave tomorrow?"
"I'm afraid so…and I won't see you for a long time after that…"
"In that case," She said sitting up, "Tell me about one of the Spartans you know,"
"…Alright then, his name is John, but we refer to him as either Spartan 117, or Master Chief."
"Is he a good guy?" Deke asked lying down again,
"He's a hero Deke, he has done many great things."
"…Will I ever meet him?" She asked drowsily, sleep was taking her,
"Maybe I can get him to come down for Christmas…"
"…If I could have anything in the world…I would want to be a Spartan…and fight along side Master Chief saying, "Hell yeah sir," and Hell no sir,"…I'm sorry I can't listen to your story anymore, the Sandman is beating me to death…"
Michael laughed,
"Goodnight soldier…"
"Goodnight sir…"
As he got up to leave Deke spoke out to him, "I'll miss you Daddy,"
"I'll miss you too."
-Midnight
Sarah heard the clomping of boots later in the night; she assumed Michael was getting his gear ready to leave. They went upstairs and Sarah knew he was saying goodbye. Sleep took her again, but this time she had horrible nightmares about Dante and Deke being gunned down in battle, Deke took a bullet to the face, it cracked the glass in her helmet and she lay motionless. The roar of "The Warthog" starting up told her Michael was leaving, but she had no idea who was going with him. Sam lay sprawled across the empty side of the bed asleep; the roar of the engine sent him into waking and a frenzy of barks and yelps. Sarah ignored it and went back into a dreamless sleep.
When morning came she went to wake Dante and Deke for school.
"Dante…wake up honey," She pulled the covers back to reveal nothing, she sighed, "He's got to stop going to sleep in his sister's room." As she reached Deke's room she spoke, "Deke, Dante, time for school, wake up-" There was nothing under the covers. Sarah's cries of anger and fright could be heard all the way down to the end of the street, she ran out to the front lawn and collapsed to her knees screaming, "Michael how could you!"
Dante and Deke were fast asleep in Cryo Tubes, knowing nothing of where they were, or where they were going.